France: series of heart attacks forecast for the weekend

And to think all the newspapers have been having hot flashes about Danone. Can't stop laughing.

Starwood Capital Group LLC, a U.S. private investment firm, agreed to buy majority stakes in French companies Groupe Taittinger SA and Société du Louvre for $1.46 billion in cash, giving it control of two of Paris's most historic luxury hotels, a 271-year-old Champagne producer and crystal maker Baccarat.

Starwood Capital, run by hotel executive Barry S. Sternlicht, agreed to buy the controlling stake in Champagne maker Taittinger, based in Reims, France, from the Taittinger family and Belgian financier Albert Frère. Taittinger and Mr. Frère control Société du Louvre.

Besides Baccarat, Société du Louvre owns the Concorde Group, among whose assets are 14 luxury hotels, including the Hotel Lutetia and the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. It also owns the 805-hotel Envergure Group, Europe's second-largest budget chain.

"They have some of the finest assets owned by any company in the lodging space," said Mr. Sternlicht, chairman and chief executive of Starwood Capital, a closely held real-estate investment-management firm in Greenwich, Conn. "It's a company I've admired for a very long time."

Starwood plans to sell the Champagne business, consulting with the family and keeping it in French hands. "It's very important -- not only the family name on the business -- but it's also a national treasure and we will fully respect that," Mr. Sternlicht said.

(...)

Taittinger, founded in 1734, has been controlled by the Taittinger family since 1931. "We feel that after more than 60 years of work and building this unique group, this group deserves to see its future secured," said Anne-Claire Taittinger, chairwoman of the company.